


Burning Tears & Fleece-Covered Shoulders

by Gramophony



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), No beta - we die like Ranboo in every multiplayer game, Phil Watson-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Philza trying to comfort his seven foot tall son, Ranboo Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Shapeshifter Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Techno has like two lines in this but I promise he's important, When ranboo cries it hurts him, Why are all of Phil's children SO TALL, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), being half enderman is rough, edward is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gramophony/pseuds/Gramophony
Summary: "Just as he moves to close the dusty book perched in his lap he hears the door slam downstairs. He pauses, waiting to hear the telltale clopping of a certain Piglin-shifter walking in but instead there is a moment of silence and then a piercing anguished noise. It’s unmistakably a sound only an enderman could produce but Phil, in all his years, has never heard anything like it."
Relationships: Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 943





	Burning Tears & Fleece-Covered Shoulders

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first fanfic I've written since I was like 13 so please be kind. I am very rusty. Anyhow Ranboo confirmed that DSMP!Ranboo's tears hurt him and it reminded me of a headcanon I saw on my twitter timeline that Phil and Techno allow Ranboo to bury his face in their shoulder when he cries so the tears get absorbed and as a result I speedran this oneshot last night. I am always a slut for some good hurt/comfort content. Enjoy! :D

It’s early in the evening when Phil is startled from his reading. Outside the window, on the second story of Techno’s cabin, he spots the beginnings of a snow storm starting to rage. Shutters bang periodically against the sides of the house, but Phil knows that wasn’t the sound that spooked him from his deep musing over ancient tomes. Just as he moves to close the dusty book perched in his lap he hears the door slam downstairs. He pauses, waiting to hear the telltale clopping of a certain Piglin-shifter walking in but instead there is a moment of silence and then a piercing anguished noise.

It’s unmistakably a sound only an enderman could produce but Phil, in all his years, has never heard anything like it. He’s used to the inquisitive noises Techno’s… He hesitates to think of Edward as a pet, the enderman seems far too sentient to be called such… Techno’s companion, as well as the angry screeches he makes when Phil stares at him a moment too long but this was something else entirely. Anyhow, Edward had disappeared again- as was typical for him to do every so often- and there was only one other individual that could possibly be making those noises.

Phil quickly gets up, mindful to place the delicate tome gently atop a pile of many more equally as ancient books stacked on the floor. He begins to quietly make his way downstairs, the noises grow louder the closer he gets until they’re almost too much to bear. The anguished screeching is only broken up periodically by sniffles and equally heart-breaking soft warbles. As the first floor comes into view, lit only by a couple of torches, Phil immediately spots the source. The enderman hybrid that Phil took in only days ago is currently crouched in the middle of the living room, hands tucked over his head, body folded in on itself, and shaking with what Phil could only think to equate to sobs. Phil tucks his damaged wings close to his body to make sure he looks as unthreatening as possible, not wanting to scare the boy. He reaches the bottom step and calls out as softly as he is able to.

“Ranboo? Mate?”

Ranboo’s head jerks up and Phil is surprised to see red and green tears streaming from the boy’s eyes. Remembering that one of Ranboo’s inherited traits is a dislike for direct eye contact, Phil averts his eyes towards Ranboo’s nose instead. In doing so, he notices that the edges of the hybrid’s mouth are stretched wider apart than he recalls them being. He waves that observation away because the boy still hasn’t spoken and Phil can feel his eyes on him.

“Ranboo? What’s going on?” he tries again. The anguished alien screeching has died down and now only those soft warbles fill the silence. After a moment Ranboo finally speaks.

“Phil! I-I’m sorry I didn’t think anyone was here right now,” his voice is thick with tears and he takes a second to try to clear it with no substantial success, “I-I just- the snow was starting to get heavier and- and my thoughts were getting jumbled and I-I started panicking so I ran here.” He’s heaving now, still crouched on the floor and the screeching noises are starting to increase in volume again. Phil opens his mouth to interject but is swiftly cut off.

“I’m sorry I came in here without permission! It’s just that my shack doesn’t offer much- much shelter and the shadows in the storm were scaring me and- and I promise I’ll leave as soon as I can. I can’t- I don’t want to intrude in Techno’s home but I-“

“Ranboo!” Phil says loud and firm, cutting the panicked boy off. Said boy freezes in fear, tears still running down his face and Phil resists the urge to roll his eyes. “I already told you, you are welcome to take shelter in the cabin whenever you need to.”

“But Techno hasn’t-"

“I would not have offered if I wasn’t a hundred percent sure Techno would be okay with it.” The older man takes this moment to briefly make eye contact so Ranboo knows he’s telling the truth.

“Oh.”

Another pause and Phil takes notice of the chill in the room, as well as the snow that still clings to the clothing on Ranboo’s hunched form.

“Ranboo,” he starts. The ender hybrid hums in response, sniffling and warbling, “Can I come closer?”

Receiving a nod of affirmation, the winged man moves slowly past Ranboo’s form towards the fireplace where only dying embers reside. He grabs new logs from a nearby pile, places them atop the embers, and with a wave of his hand, they ignite into a roaring fire.

“There we go. Nice and toasty.” He mutters softly, brushing his palms together to rid them of dirt and bark pieces.

He turns back to the boy on the floor, only to find that Ranboo has tucked his hands back over his head and continues to warble and sob. Slowly, carefully, Phil lowers himself to crouch in front of the ender hybrid making sure to loudly rustle his feathers to alert the kid of his movements. He ponders for a moment how much larger Ranboo is than him, even in this position. Well, it’s not as if he doesn’t have experience comforting children far taller than himself. He gently brushes the tips of his fingers against Ranboo’s shoulder.

“Ranboo? You don’t have to look me in the eyes, but at least let me see your face?” he coaxes quietly. The boy removes his hands and slowly looks up, eyes roving all over Phil’s face, never staying in one place and never looking directly into the calm blue of the older man’s eyes. Phil directs his gaze to the bridge of Ranboo’s nose again.

“You can stay here tonight. I don’t think Techno will be back soon and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind regardless. Once the storm passes and you can get your thoughts back in order, you can go.” Phil soothes.

The winged man lightly places his hands on either side of Ranboo’s face, trying to offer some sort of physical comfort without overstepping any boundaries. To his surprise, Ranboo leans into the touch. Phil watches in mute fascination as red and green tears run over the backs of his hands. In the quiet, he notices a faint sizzling noise and realizes the muscles in Ranboo’s face are constantly twitching and flinching. His eyes widen with panic as he pieces together what’s happening.

“Ranboo!” he exclaims in horror. The boy, startled, wrenches his face out of Phil’s grasp.

“Huh? What?”

“Your tears!” Phil’s wings flutter in shock as he stares at the kid’s wet face. “Are they hurting you?!”

“Oh uh,” Ranboo goes to wipe at his tears, wincing from the pressure against clearly tender skin. The action only makes the sizzling noise more noticeable. The hybrid attempts a laugh that just sounds downright miserable, “yeah they- they hurt. I guess being hybrid means your biology doesn’t always match up. I haven’t cried this hard in a while…”

There’s more silence, Phil isn’t sure what to do with this revelation. Suddenly Ranboo starts sobbing again.

“Fuck.” Phil is shocked to hear the profanity leave the boy’s mouth, “It really hurts, Phil. It hurts a lot. The pain makes me want to cry more and I can’t wipe them away without hurting my hands too and I-“

He’s cut off as Phil settles on a plan of action and moves forward. With one arm he reaches around Ranboo’s middle and places his hand firmly in the center of his back. His other hand goes to gently grasp the back of the boy’s head and tucks his face into his shoulder. Ranboo freezes up for a split-second before relaxing, letting all his weight collapse against the winged man, his sobbing increases in volume again.

Phil nearly falls backward, only just catching his balance with the help of his wings, and adjusts himself so he can better accommodate the seven and a half foot tall hybrid leaning against him. He briefly thanks whatever gods might be listening that the boy is lanky and not heavily built like his piglin-shifter son tends to be whenever he is more beast than man. Another silent thanks is given when he notices that Ranboo is not screeching as he had been earlier. Phil wasn’t sure he could take that noise in close proximity. However the soft sad warbles in his ear pull at his heartstrings and he grips more firmly onto the boy in response, rubbing his hand up and down his back. His spur-of-the-moment solution seems to be working as he feels some of Ranboo’s tears absorbing into the fabric over his shoulder. He finds himself wishing for his soft fur-lined mantle which hangs feet away on a coat rack by the front door, but he figures that the thick blue fleece of his Antarctic Empire uniform will suffice for now.

He’s not sure how long he sits on the floor holding the ender hybrid but at some point, Ranboo’s head was moved from one shoulder to the other, and Phil’s legs have almost entirely lost feeling. The boy no longer seems to be crying, instead just breathing slowly and sniffling occasionally. Satisfied that Ranboo has calmed down a sufficient amount he picks his head up from where he rested it against the boy’s own head and nudges his shoulder gently. This time a sleepy inquisitive warble meets his ears as Ranboo moves his head away from Phil’s shoulder and stares at him blearily. If Ranboo had eyelids, Phil’s sure they’d be half-lidded with exhaustion.

“C’mon mate, let’s get you upstairs and into bed,” Phil suggests, “You can take techno’s bed. It should be big enough for you.” Ranboo’s brows shoot up and Phil quickly reassures him “I’ll be sleeping up there too. On the off chance, Techno comes back tonight, I’ll be here to explain. Okay?” Ranboo nods at him slowly before detaching himself from Phil and standing up.

Phil watches in momentary awe as Ranboo rises to his full height, absolutely dwarfing the winged man on the floor. The boy offers a clawed hand to the man and Phil takes it. He goes slowly, allowing feeling back into his legs, and lets go of the offered hand when he stands fully upright muttering a quick “thanks mate” as he moves towards the staircase. He leaves the fire roaring knowing that his magic will keep it safe and fuel it until morning.

As they reach the top of the staircase, Phil gestures to the long queen-sized bed pushed against one of the walls, modestly covered in some off-white linen sheets.

“Go on then. Get some sleep.” He coaxes to a nervous-looking Ranboo who stands awkwardly at the top of the stairs.

The boy moves cautiously to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. Phil moves towards the guest cot, set up against the opposite wall, and carefully starts moving some tomes back into their places on Techno’s bookshelves. The few that belong to Phil are tucked neatly under the cot, so he doesn’t have to worry about accidentally kicking them. He then undoes the buttons of his uniform leaving him in woolen pants and a white long-sleeved undershirt. He observes the wet spots on the shoulders of his uniform and is somewhat surprised to find they are not stained red and green. He shrugs before folding the shirt and placing it on top of a chest to be washed tomorrow.

When he finishes with those tasks he glances towards Ranboo, only to find that the boy had laid down at some point and was now fast asleep. Or at least he appeared to be asleep. It was hard to tell with those red and green eyes staring wide at nothing. Phil finds this a little off-putting but brushes it off knowing all hybrids have their weird quirks.

Phil sits on the edge of his cot and waves a hand once again. The single torch lighting the second floor swiftly goes out. The only light that makes it into the room is a faint warm glow near the stairs from the fireplace below and the blue light of the moon streaming in through the windows. Phil gets under the warm covers and falls asleep almost immediately.

He awakes the next morning to the smell of food wafting from downstairs. Remembering the events of last night, he sits up in confusion. He glances over to Techno’s bed and sees the distinct fluffy black and white hair of Ranboo nestled under the covers, facing away from him. His eyebrows raise however when he recognizes a fur-lined red cape draped over the boy's sleeping form. That was most certainly not there last night.

He gets up quietly, cautiously creeping past Ranboo trying not to make too much noise. As he reaches the bottom of the staircase, the scent of frying eggs and savory turtle stew reaches his nose. He glances into the living room and sees some pieces of a uniform draped over the back of the couch. The throw pillows are suspiciously misplaced, a few are on the floor, and a blanket is crumpled near one of the ends of the couch. From the other side of the wall that separates the main area and the kitchen, he can hear familiar clopping as someone moves around. He enters the kitchen to see his son, more human than beast at the moment, standing over a pan, spatula in hand, and a boiling pot of stew on the burner next to him. Hearing someone enter, Techno looks up from the sizzling eggs.

“Mornin’.” Is the simple greeting he gives Phil like he hasn’t been gone for a whole week, like there isn’t currently an enderman hybrid sleeping soundly in his own bed. Phil moves to take a seat at the kitchen’s island.

“Good morning, Techno.” He greets back just as casually. They settle into a comfortable silence as Techno continues to watch the eggs cook and Phil sips gently at the mug of hot coffee that had been set out for him. Techno breaks the quiet.

“So it seems like you just can’t stop takin’ in strays, huh?” his tone implies that he’s annoyed, but Phil can see the upward quirk of his mouth as he turns his head to check on the stew. Phil smiles warmly into his mug watching as Techno prepares _three_ plates of food.

“It sure seems that way doesn’t it?”

_Fin._


End file.
